The Dark Knight returns: representation of violence in the hands of Batman during Reagan's administration (1981-1986)

• Grant number: 17/25152-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2018
• End date: April 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Modern and Contemporary History
• Principal Investigator: Ana Lúcia Lana Nemi
• Grantee: Millena Barbosa de Carvalho
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The present project aims to analyze the narrative of "Batman the Dark Knight Returns", produced in the year 1986, by author Frank Miller. We intend to discuss the possible relations and dialogues with the lived experience of the comic's author, searching for signs and meanings about Ronald Reagan's administration in the United States, next to the historiography that discusses the increase of violence in the decade of 1980's. We will analyze what were the actions from Reagan's administration to the socioeconomic problems of the 1980's, and how they appear in the comic narrative, discussing the role of the vigilante, Batman, and the possibilities of institutionally resolving the issue of violence proposed by Frank Miller.